![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Jul. 19th, 2005
Musing on l'affaire Rove
Jul. 19th, 2005 04:12 pmTwo things seem absolutely certain about the Rove affair.
1. He played fast and loose with an issue that had national security implications for partisan political purposes.
2. His boss will find enough wiggle room to avoid having to sack him.
The arguments about exactly what Rove said to whom and when and the degree of naughtiness thereby implied have been done to death both in the conventional media and the blogosphere but there has been far less analysis of why Shrub is being so steadfast in his loyalty to Rove.
It may partly be that Rove is now about the only person on the White House staff who isn't a complete idiot and therefore that Shrub really can't manage without him. It may also have something to do with genuine affection and loyalty on Shrub's part. These hardly seem sufficient though. Competence, affection and loyalty are not things Shrub is noted for.
My theory (eh heh!) is based on the fact that Rove has been an intimate of Shrub's for virtually his whole political career and that Rove is extraordinarily vindictive, even by Washington standards. There's a fair amount in the public domain about Bush's youthful indiscretions but who's to say how much remains that has never been made public?
Assuming there are such potential bombshells, one would expect Rove to know about them and be prepared to use them. I reckon he's got Shrub by the wobbly bits.
1. He played fast and loose with an issue that had national security implications for partisan political purposes.
2. His boss will find enough wiggle room to avoid having to sack him.
The arguments about exactly what Rove said to whom and when and the degree of naughtiness thereby implied have been done to death both in the conventional media and the blogosphere but there has been far less analysis of why Shrub is being so steadfast in his loyalty to Rove.
It may partly be that Rove is now about the only person on the White House staff who isn't a complete idiot and therefore that Shrub really can't manage without him. It may also have something to do with genuine affection and loyalty on Shrub's part. These hardly seem sufficient though. Competence, affection and loyalty are not things Shrub is noted for.
My theory (eh heh!) is based on the fact that Rove has been an intimate of Shrub's for virtually his whole political career and that Rove is extraordinarily vindictive, even by Washington standards. There's a fair amount in the public domain about Bush's youthful indiscretions but who's to say how much remains that has never been made public?
Assuming there are such potential bombshells, one would expect Rove to know about them and be prepared to use them. I reckon he's got Shrub by the wobbly bits.
